22. 22. Okay. Ask him to come ahead. I'll get out of your way here. All right. Thank you. Happy birthday, Gary. Thank you. And all the others. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Continue to pray for our sick, our shut-ins. Continue to pray for our sister, Karen Galt, recovering from her surgery. Continue to pray for Kim's recovery and all our shut-ins and special needs, families in bereavement. Pray for them as well. Brother Ed, you lead us in prayer this morning. And Father, Lord, we come to you this morning, Lord, we do thank you for this day that you've given to us, and Father, for the ones that have come out this morning. Father, we do think of the ones that are sick and shut-ins, that you would be with each one of those. And Father, we thank you especially a little of Isaiah and Elijah. He's about six months old now, and they said he wasn't there, but he's still there. And we pray that you might be with him and be with his mom and dad. And Father, we do pray for America, that you watch over her and her. And Lord, that this presidential election, Lord, that we all have a transferable time, that you might be with each one of them. And Father, we do pray now for our church, that you might be suppressed not over there. And in the Sunday school lesson and in the after service, we pray for them. Pray, Lord, that when it's lost, this will be the day that they realize they need to repent of their sins and to pray for the rest of America. We ask all these things of God. Amen. All right, good morning. Let's turn our Bibles to Psalm 138. Psalm 138. God's promise to honor his word. Key verse, verse four, Psalm 138. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Our little textbook tells us that Psalm 138 is ascribed to David, but the circumstances are unknown. In other words, there's no autobiographical line here, no musical notations like Psalm 139 says to the chief musician, no indication of when it's written or the occasion, Psalm 138. But it is a psalm that this Sunday school curriculum calls God's promise to honor his word. God's word for God's world. That's a model we used to use on one of our stationary headings, one of our God's Word for God's world. God intended for His Word, His message, His truth to reach all the world. In the beginning of creation, He spoke to Adam and gave him instructions And that was to be passed down parents to children in the sin curse that disrupts the plan for families to continue the heritage of the Lord. And God began to deal with the peoples of the earth not only through families but through nations and then through ministries like Israel's tabernacle, Israel's temple, and eventually the New Testament through the church. We have an outline here in Psalm 138 a prayer of praise Psalm 138 verses 1 through 3 acclaiming The Almighty and then supplication for security first of all verses 1 through 3 I will praise thee with my whole heart. Before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. One of the great emphases in the Bible about our relationship with God has to do with what sometimes we call integrity, our wholeness, our body, soul, and spirit put together and serving God as a whole person, not serving God in bits and pieces, or not serving God with part of our heart, or with part of our strength, but serving God with all that we have, giving God complete worship. There's an interesting word here in verse 1, and that's the word God's. the word God means strong one so sometimes we see the word God lowercase g plural we think what could that mean interestingly enough in the Old Testament in my morning message I have a difficult paragraph because it's the next paragraph in Mark 1 is about the demon-possessed man in the synagogue where Jesus has just spoken and amazed the people with his authority. At the end of that service, if you will, Mark chapter 1, well, just save the church. But anyway, at the end of the synagogue service, this demon-possessed man causes a commotion and there is a Jesus delivers him in some people's minds it's Quite a terrifying encounter. Sometimes we don't know quite what to think of this demonic activity. In the New Testament, it's very clear there was a lot of demonic activity. I think primarily because Jesus was present here on the earth and there was a real battle with the time that Christ is physically here on the earth. And we'll say more about that in the message. But in the Old Testament, it doesn't talk about demons. It talks about gods, strong ones. I think in both cases, demons and the lowercase gods. I think it's talking about fallen angels. When Adam sinned because of Lucifer's temptation, There's clearly an indication that one of God's angels had gone to war against God in remorse Calls it the long war against God it began when Lucifer decided he would Ascended the throne of the Almighty of course he was cast out of heaven the Bible says that one-third of the angels We don't know how many angels there are R, it's a fixed number, but a third of the angels fell with Lucifer. Some of those angels, those fallen angels, are evidently what the Old Testament calls, lowercase, gods. They have some power. They have some strength. They're not omnipotent. They're not omnipresent. Satan is not omnipotent. Satan doesn't know everything. He's not everywhere at every moment. He is fixed by time and space. and so are his angels, and they are able to influence people, and apparently able, in some cases, to take physical possession of someone. Let me say more about that in the message, but these false gods, or these angelic gods, if you will, are observing creation. They are somehow able to interact with creation. One of the things I'll emphasize in the message, I don't think that's a point for us to be anxious, I don't think we should sit around afraid and fearful that somehow Satan is going to overthrow God or that the demons are stronger than The holy angels which are given charge over us but I do think that we have a responsibility to maintain our testimony before these gods, plural. Another commentator believes the word gods here just means someone who has authority, like a king, or emperor, or a president, or a prime minister of a country, that the word God here means somebody with authority, somebody with power. So it's possible that it means that as well. It says, I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth. For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. This is a theme that's repeated more than once in the Old Testament, that God has exalted his word. And by word, I believe he's referring to the scriptures, the God-breathed words that are inscripturated in the Bible, in the 66 books Canada the Bible I believe that's the word that He is magnifying above his name He says Praise your name magnify your word of all your name In the day when I cried you answered me and strengthened me with strength and in my soul. So this is the psalmist praising God. Notice verse one, I will praise. Verse one, I sing praise. Verse two, I will praise. Verse three, in the day when I cried. So the first paragraph is about David praising God. Before we can ask others to praise God, before we can tell others they should praise God, before we can instruct others about how to worship God, you and I have to be worshiping God. Missions, John Piper said, is calling people to praise God who previously didn't know God. So going around, not just getting people saved, or asking people to be saved, but teaching them to praise God. So paragraph one, David praises God. Paragraph two is calling on the kings of the earth. And that's why some people think that the gods of verse one, G-O-D-S, are actually principalities and powers in earthly kingdoms. Verse four, all the kings of the earth shall praise thee. Oh Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly, but the proud he knows afar off. So verses one through three, David praises God. Verses four through six, He talks about kings praising God. It's difficult sometimes for the mighty kings and the rich and the powerful to worship God because of pride. Interestingly enough, that's what caused Lucifer to sin. He was lifted up with pride. Evidently, Lucifer was a beautiful, powerful, maybe the chief of all the angels, but he was lifted up with pride. Pride goes before a fall, the Bible says. So, the second paragraph is asking the kings, announcing the kings, the Lord Philippians 2 says that eventually everyone will bend their knee and confess that Jesus is Lord if you do that in this life by repenting and believing the gospel you can be saved but and the judgment the great white throne judgment the wicked will even confess that Jesus is our King, that he is the Lord. So, though the Lord be high, yet he has respect unto the lowly. The word respect means he will listen, means he'll care, means he will attend to those who are lowly. God hates a proud heart. Then in verses 7 and 8, though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me. Thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of thine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me. Thy mercy, O Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the works of thine own hands. Verses 7 and 8 are a prayer. In a way, they're a praise. But he says, I walk in the midst of trouble. Now, why would he be in the midst of trouble? Well, first of all, because David is praising God. And there are kings and gods and authorities who are not praising God. So there's a conflict here. There's a clash here. You and I worship God. Sometimes people in authority, sometimes people who are powerful, sometimes kings and prime ministers do not worship God. And in a sense, the Bible says that the devil is the prince in the power of the air. We're not really sure exactly how that works. How much influence the devil has in a world system that is anti-Christ, anti-God, but evidently the devil does have a great deal of power, a great deal of influence. Ultimately, ultimately, the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord. God's working things, even wicked men are ultimately overruled by God. Even the crucifixion of Christ demonstrates that wicked people, murderous people, wanted to kill Jesus, but God was, in a way we now understand, overruling that so the death of Christ actually becomes the way of salvation. The Romans and the Jews and the religious leaders of Jesus day, they had murderous intent. They hated Jesus. They wanted him killed. They were never able to do so, but they probably thought they had won the victory when they crucified him. but actually the crucifixion of Christ was not their victory. It was Jesus' victory. Jesus conquers death. He conquers hell. He pays for our sins on the cross. But we are in conflict with the world system. We're in conflict with the people who have a different worldview. They don't believe God created the world. They don't believe God controls the world. They don't believe that God should receive praise. They believe that man is the center of all things, that man is the most important thing. So we're in conflict here. We go about praising God. And we say that everybody should praise God. Everyone needs to know Him. Everyone needs to hear the words of His mouth, verse 4. And the kings of the earth should sing the ways of the Lord and talk about the glory of the Lord. Well, that's going to put us at That's going to put us in harm's way. We're going to walk in the midst of trouble. There are going to be those who oppose us. There are going to be those who hate us. Jesus told his disciples, he says, don't be surprised when people hate you. One of the real common sense mysteries of everyday life is why people hate Christianity. Now I know there are bad Christians. I hope that's not a news flash. I hope no one is shocked to say some people who profess the name of Christ or say they're Christians do not live like the Bible says. They're poor testimonies. Matter of fact, some people use Christianity as a cloak or a camouflage for wickedness. A great deal of wickedness has been done through the centuries in the name of Christ. It wasn't Christian theology or Christian practice. But a lot of evil has been done in the name of God. The religious wars of history were often done With the excuse that God wants us to, you know, have a government that controls people. A lot of the wars, I would say most of the wars in the Middle Ages were promoted by religious clashes between nations, England and Spain, England and France, many times between Protestants and Catholics, sometimes wars between Christianity, so-called Crusades, and a lot of that brought a bad reputation to Christianity. That somehow Christianity has to control people with a sword. Christianity has to control people with political authority. The Bible actually says that our weapons are not carnal. We do not go to the mission field with carnal weapons. We don't send our missionaries to Brazil or France or Peru or the other parts of the world. We don't send them with guns and swords and say, you know, go tell people they have to become Christians. What do we send them with? Well, we send them with the only weapon they have. That's the Bible. You say, well, if that's all they got, well, that's all they need. Because the Bible is the power of God and His salvation. So Christianity has often been misrepresented and been misused, but biblical Christianity does still put us in conflict. My point is, it's really kind of strange because everywhere Christianity has gone, the standard of living has improved. And it's historical fact. The care for the poor has improved. The care for children has improved. Even the status and protection of women has improved. Wherever Christianity, I mean biblical Christianity, has had its voice, has had its opportunity, the benefits of Christianity. In the trail of Christianity, you find care for the orphans, you find hospitals, you find benevolence, you find, well James says, true religion and undefiled is this, you care for the fatherless and for the widows. Now, why would a religion that's primary symptom is caring for people, why would it be so hated? Why would it be the enemy? Why would it bring down wrath and persecution? It's a pretty simple question, actually, because Christianity says, you know what the real problem of the world is? The real problem is you are a sinner. Now, if you go around and tell people, you know what the problem with the world is? Well, it's these rich people over here, or these bad people over there, or, well, you know, the real problem with the world is people don't have enough money, or people don't have enough political power, or people don't have enough... education, so if we could just fix all these things people don't have, why then everybody would be happy? Everybody would get along. Well, the real problem with that is that doesn't work. When you have a man who is a thief because he finds that him to school. So you send this man to school. And you send him to university. And you send him to business school. You know what that guy does when he gets to some place in his business life or his business world? He gets to Wall Street. You know what he does? Well, if he's a sinner, he steals. But his stealing looks different, doesn't it? He doesn't steal with a gun or a knife. He doesn't mug people in the alleyway. You know what he does? He cheats them with deceitful contracts and illegal business deals. You think, well, what is the problem? Well, the problem is not that he's actually Very well-educated. Many times, white-collar criminals are actually quite wealthy already. In other words, they've already obtained a standard of living. It's like, oh, that's enviable. I mean, he lives in a nice house. He drives a nice car. He's got a lot of money. Why do white-collar criminals who have a lot, why do millionaires cheat people? You think, well if I had a couple million dollars, I would just be the kindest, bestest, goodest person in the world. And looking at you all, I'm thinking you probably would. I think you could be trusted with $10 or $20 million. I don't think it would phase you at all. I think you'd just go on being this good old person you are. Well, it might help the fact that you're a Christian. But anyway, why do wealthy people commit crimes? Why do powerful people commit crimes? Because they're sinners. You think, well, maybe we shouldn't send them to school. Maybe we shouldn't. teach people how to read. Maybe we shouldn't teach people how to do business things. Well, no, that's not the answer either because actually education and business can be helpful. You can help people by running a business and you can make a good living for you and for your employees if you are honest and Business is not the evil, work is not the evil, but it is the human heart that's the problem. So you know why Christianity is so offensive to most people? It's that ultimately we have to tell them, you know what the real problem in the world is? The real problem is you. Now it also happens to be me as well. I'm a sinner. We're not just going around pointing our finger at people saying, you know what the problem is to everybody else. No, actually the problem is, I'm a sinner. You're a sinner. We've all sinned. The world finds that, human nature finds that offensive. Because human nature always wants to blame somebody else. This goes back to Eden as well. The first reaction to sin The first rationalization, the first defense of sin is always, well, it was the serpent. Everything was fine, and a serpent showed up, and it's the snake. Well, Lord, it's this woman you gave me. That's the whole problem. Everything went wrong, and it's the blame game. Why do people resent the message that they're sinners? Well, it's true. We do not want the blame to be our own. We do not want the problem to be me. We don't want the problem to be my responsibility. So I think the great offense of Christianity which is often characterized by people who are proud. Wickedness makes people proud because it's sort of a combination of things. They're proud that they're able to control things and proud that they're able to do things. And they don't need a God, they don't need the God, they don't need any help. And that leads to great, great ridicules. So Christianity will bring us into trouble. Verse seven says, though I walk in the midst of trouble, I want to praise you, Lord. I know who you are. You're great and wonderful. You're loving, kind. When I called on you to save me, verse 3, you saved me. But I walk in the midst of trouble. Not only is Christianity offensive because it puts the responsibility on the individual sinner, But Christianity has also been unpopular. See if this makes sense to us. Because Christianity does not produce a carefree life. If the health and wealth gospel, the prosperity gospel, say these magic words, do these rich financially, and you'll be physically well. If you can just get the right incantation, the right recipe, and hit the right code on the ATM, the celestial ATM machine, and all will be well. That's a very attractive gospel. It is unfortunately false. Christianity does not, in this life, produce an easy life. Matter of fact, the Bible teaches that in this world, we will have trouble. We will have persecution. The first reason I gave you is because we're preaching an unpopular message. Number next, we live in a sin-cursed world. And so, People are sinning and hurting each other. There's a sin curse on creation. That's why there's disease. That's why there is dying and destruction and storms and hurricanes and tornadoes. Why is the world groaning and travailing like this? Well, it's because of the sin curse. The sin curse has caused havoc all over God's creation. So we're going to have trouble. But the expectation is God will revive us, that he will protect us, that he will save us. And the promise in verse 8 is the Lord will perfect. That means to mature or complete. That which concerns me. Romans chapter 8 says God is, the believer in Christ is a project. Every individual Christian is a construction program, incomplete. The reason I know God isn't finished with perfecting you or me is because we are still here. God is still shaping us. I think Romans 8 uses the word conforming us to the image of his son, making us more like Jesus, making us reflect Christ, and difficult for us to accept. God uses trouble, God uses difficulty, God uses suffering to do that. And it would be a whole lot more popular and a whole lot more enjoyable for us to say like, well, the tool God uses is just to give you everything you want. God just, whatever you want, God gives it to you and that makes you a better person, that makes you a good person. And by the way, God does richly bless us with many, many things. We often, respond with forgetfulness or we take it for granted. Americans think that we are prosperous or financially better off than 99% of the rest of the world because somehow we're better. Actually, it's because God's merciful. God's been good to us. God has blessed us. God has used us in many wonderful ways. God does give us richly many things to enjoy. But the fact of the matter is, We are in a spiritual warfare, and we need God to perfect complete to conform us God will perfect that which concerns me verse 8 says thy mercy O Lord endures forever forsake not the works of thine own hands I Ephesians 2a says, we're saved by grace, but then the following verses go on to say that we are the workmanship of God. It's a word that's also translated into English as poem. We're God's poetry as he shapes it. and conforms us to his image, his mercies endure forever, and we beg him not to forsake the works of his own hands. God made us in creation. God has remade us, recreated us in the image and conformity to Jesus Christ. In what ways do you see the Lord continuing to work in you? Patience. Patience? God's patient with us? God's teaching us patience? Someone said be careful about praying for patience because the tool God uses to teach us patience is trouble. Patience. And what other ways do you see the Lord continuing to work in you? When I fall, He lifts me up again. When you fall, He forgives you, He lifts you up again. How about the fact that He's keeping you alive? Pretty basic, isn't it? How many of you woke up this morning? Not yet. Some of you didn't. Hopefully you wrote to somebody else. If you did, you're not awake yet. When you wake up in the morning, you know what that tells me? God's still working on me. Remember that little chorus you used to sing at camp? What's that song? He's still working on me. Took him just a week to make the moon and the stars, sun and the earth, Jupiter and Mars. Remember that? Let's sing. No, I'm just kidding. He's still working on me. You know how I know He's still working on me? Because here I am. Still here. Woke up this morning. My thought, I don't want to say it was my first thought, but I was thinking about this Sunday School lesson. I'm thinking, well, He's still working on me. He's got some shaping, some conforming. He's abundantly good to me and blessing me. But sometimes God uses difficulty to shape us. Sometimes difficulty in others helps shape us. It breaks our heart. It humbles us. It puts us on our knees praying for others. So the fact that you're still alive is God continuing to work in you with patience, forgiveness. Life itself is proof that God is still working in you. Any other ways God's continuing to work in you? He's teaching you, not because I've said something today, but if anything I've said is true and comes from God's Word, the Bible says God's Word is inspired and it is profitable that you can be equipped and thoroughly furnished Yes. I don't know if it would apply or not, but the fruits of the spirit, he would have to be molding us to where we emanate those fruits. Love, joy, peace, long suffering. Yeah, those do not naturally occur. The works of the flesh, he talks about in that passage, are not love, joy. How many of you ever lived in a furnished apartment? One time in my life I, furnished apartment, that was what they would say. That was a big sale. You know why? You didn't need any furniture. The furnished apartment I had even had its own bedding. I guess is that the appropriate thing to say? Now you had to wash your linens, but you moved in and everything was there. There were towels, sheets, pillowcases, dishes in the little kitchenette. I don't remember food. I don't think there was any food in there. I don't think I would have remembered that. There was no food in there, but furnished. You didn't bring anything but you. Most people prefer to have a place they furnish, but when God gives you his word, he moves you into a furnished, You don't have to bring anything spiritually. You don't have to bring anything intellectually. You think, well, we have to have our mind. Yes, you have to be alive. You have to be born again. But the Bible says God gives you all the things that pertain to life and godliness. God's continuing to work in you because he is providing his word to you, his scripture. And that really ties in with what we said earlier. Verse four, the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. I saw this quoted in a calendar from Trinitarian Bible Society there. like Bearing Precious Seed, they're involved in several translation projects to get the Bible in all the languages of the world, all the dialects of the world, because, I think they're correct, they believe people need to hear and read the Word of God in their native tongue. French people need to hear the Word of God in French. Brazilian people need to hear the Word of God in Portuguese. Peruvians need to hear the Word of God in Spanish. Many of the languages of the Trinitarian Bible Society, their projects are in dialects. I can't even pronounce the name of the language. let alone speak the language. There are dialects in Southeast Asia, and Papua New Guinea has several hundred different ethnic linguistic groups where they're translating the Bible into the tongue, and God's work is continuing in those places. Alright, let's bow for prayer. Pray for the morning message. It is somewhat controversial, this whole idea of demon activity, many misconceptions about it, many unreasonable fears and anxieties about what the Bible teaches about Satan and Pray for that message. Brother Jim, I was inquiring about this message, please. Brother Gabe, thank you for this day. It's time to come out to your house. I pray for those who are sick, for those who are slain, for those who have not been healed, for those who have not been traveled, for those who have been abandoned, for those who have been persecuted, for those who have been massacred, for those who have been killed, for those who have been lost, for all of us, Lord, and for those who are saved. In Christ's name, we ask. Amen. Water. Good morning. th th th th Yeah, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know where to begin. I'm sorry, I don't know th th Okay. th th th th th th I was actually I heard that it's like I'm do you have a haircut? on purpose? no I like it here we go Thank you very much. Thank you. Oh, I know what that looks like. Hello, hello. How are you? this is new, right? you know what? they're scheduling it right now I don't know, I haven't seen it yet I think I could give it to you and spend the day with you and then we'll all go over there and you can come check with me yeah, I'll do that and then I'll help you with the rest of the stuff I'm just a little tired too bad after I drop the camera, I'll just... You can text me if you see the application. I have to leave about 12.30, but he'll be here. Oh, I'll be before then. It would be earlier. Oh, that's fine. It would be 10 o'clock. OK. Yeah, I need to go. I think it might be better not to go. Yeah. um are you okay to see an an an an an an Thank you. Good morning. Thank you. That's all I know. All I know. What? Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, we're still going, guys. Yeah, I think I should go. Wow. Thank you. oh Hi. Hi. Hi. Welcome to our Sunday morning services. Let's take our hymnals and turn to number 59. We'll stand and sing all three stanzas, standing as we sing number 59. This is my Father's world, and to others He peers. Evermore! This is my Father's world, a birth where cares was raised. A morning light, a healing cup, he cared to make us praise. ♪ In the rustling grass right here in class ♪ ♪ You speak to me everywhere ♪ ♪ This is my father's world ♪ ♪ Oh, let me never forget ♪ ♪ That though the road seems far so strong ♪ ♪ The leaves will hold you there ♪ ♪ This is my father's world ♪ Oh All right, God bless you and welcome. Let's continue to pray for our sick. I pray for Sister Karen Gall, recovering from surgery. Appreciate your continuing prayers for Kim, her recovery. Also pray for the Plascos. Brother Bruce came briefly this morning. Sylvia's not well, and he's not feeling well. He had to leave. So pray for the Plascos, others are sick and shut in, those unable to be with us, some families in bereavement. Remember those needs. Pray for our nation in this time of transition between administrations, not just nationally, but state and local. Pray for our village and the needs of our village as well. Let's pray for God's help and provision for us. Brother Dan Bowden, would you lead us in prayer, please? God Almighty Father, we thank you for this time that we've come together in prayer. We thank you for our church. We thank you for our leader, Cedar. We pray that you would bless him. We pray that you would bless the outreach and the ministry of the church. We pray for those in our membership, in our congregations that are battling illness or injury. We pray that you would raise them up and heal them, bring them back, comfort them, give them strength. We pray for our country, that you would bless the leaders that have been elected, that you would I give them wisdom to make decisions that are wise and honor you. We pray that you would be with us as a people and we would turn to you and look to you for our deliverance. We thank you for all the blessings that you've given us. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless you. Welcome to BC. We're thankful that you are here today. I want to make a special appeal for Friendsgiving. That's this Saturday at 5 p.m. at our Brio campus out on in Pippin Road, there it is I guess. It's not very difficult to get there. But it's always a great time to fellowship and there's a sign up list on the bulletin board. If you've not been there in the past for this, come invite and bring some friends. to Friendsgiving, 5 p.m. It's a Thanksgiving meal. You'll enjoy it physically, but it's also a good opportunity to fellowship and bring some friends, perhaps introduce some people to our church's ministry. But Friendsgiving, I would like to really draw attention to that. It's next Saturday, 5 p.m. Let's ask our ushers to come who will worship God with a giving, and then Brother Blue Ridge will lead the choir in Creation Sings. so so All right, the choir's going to sing creation scenes in just a moment. I believe I saw Paul and Wanda Hatcher sneak in here, so we want to welcome them to the service, and you be sure to shake their hand at the end. Choir's going to sing. And on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on, and on Creation is a wondrous place. The angel has come in tithing grace. I feel the Father's hand of reconciling life. A second Adam on the earth, whose weightless life would be a curse, whose hand would set us free, so that within each human being Creation longs for His return When Christ shall reign upon the earth The bitter war separate Our worth beings of a coming age I'll help you see it through. Oh Okay, continuing our song service this morning, let's take our handles and turn to number 283. We'll stand and sing the first, second, and last stanza. The choir can be dismissed, and the children can be dismissed to children's church. Standing as we sing number 283. All the world is singing sad. All the world is singing sad. Embrace me to my space. I rest on his unchanging grace. Believe in my unstopping air. I am your host within the air. All right, you may be seated. Keep your hymnal, and turn to responsive reading 102. It's in the back of your hymnal. It's actually the very last responsive reading. Number 102, Gladness and Worship. We'll read the bold parts together. I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Oh, our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together. Within the tribes of the Lord go unto the testimony of Israel to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. For there are for sake thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sake, I will now say, Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good. O come, let us sing unto the Lord. Let us make a joyful noise unto the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God and a great King above all gods. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Let's pray. Father, we pray that you would help us to love you, to worship you this morning, and to recognize you as our King, and to live our lives that way. We pray that you would bless our service today in Jesus' name. All right, we're just delighted to have the Attridge with us in a question and prayer for Paul and Wanda. Pray for the BFM Thanksgiving Conference, which begins tomorrow evening in Detroit. Pray for those who are traveling from all over the country, all over the world, I guess, of people who will be coming. Brother Bobby Waycasher is preaching tomorrow night. Pray for the Ministry of Baptist Faith Commissions. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Ask God to bless the Attridge, bless that conference, the next couple of days, and for journey, mercies, and all that attend there. Father, we're coming to you. We thank you for offering the union you're asking. Thank you for the help and strength you've given us. We pray for you. We bless you. We pray for Vietnam for the conference this week, for all our missionaries, especially our Vietnam